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Tech Training Made Simple with Online Videos

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Webinar Description

Wouldn’t it be great if complicated technology concepts were explained in a simple way that’s easy to understand? Imagine how something like this could assist you in training sessions for patrons or staff. Well look no further, Common Craft creates explanatory videos “In Plain English” that cover topics like green, money, society and technology.

In this free webinar, Stephanie Gerding from TechSoup will interview Lee LeFever, from Common Craft to learn more about their videos and how they are created. We will also hear how Mary Beth Faccioli from the Colorado State Library and Carolyn Blatchley from Cumberland County Library System in Pennsylvania are using these videos to support the needs of their community.

Speaker Information

Lee LeFever is the founder and Principal of Common Craft, producers of the "In Plain English" series of explanatory videos. Common Craft's goal is to make complex ideas easy to understand in 3 minutes. Their videos have been viewed over 15 million times and the company's current focus is educational videos for use in businesses and schools and libraries. Lee and his wife Sachi operate Common Craft from their home and have been hired by companies like Google, LinkedIn and Ford to explain their products and services. Lee lives in Seattle, Washington.

Mary Beth Faccioli is the Instructional Design and Technology Consultant for the Colorado State Library. Early in her career she worked in reference and instruction at Georgia State University and Agnes Scott College, before moving to Colorado to direct the Allen Ginsberg Library at Naropa University. In these public service and administrative roles, she also worked extensively with web design and development, and with delivering instruction online. She has held web services positions at Boulder Public Library and at EDUCAUSE, and also served as a training consultant for the Colorado Correctional Libraries. In her current position, she works with various stakeholders to develop and deliver services and resources in online environments, where they've more traditionally been delivered in face-to-face and in static environments. She is always looking to use technology creatively to promote and enhance resources and services, and to support learning.

Carolyn Blatchley is the Training Services Coordinator at the Cumberland County Library System in Carlisle, PA. She has an MLIS from the University of Pittsburgh, where she first engaged in teaching technology to adult learners through web site design and reference database training. She received the 2006 New Librarian Honors Award from the Pennsylvania Library Association for leadership in the development, implementation and evaluation of the public services and system-wide staff training program. The emphasis of her work is strengthening staff information technology skills. She harbors a deep appreciation for free, high quality resources that can be easily shared, and she believes excellent customer service is the most valuable outcome of a well-trained staff.

Stephanie Gerding is a nationally known library consultant and author. She presents workshops around the country and online on grants, training, and technology topics. Stephanie’s first co-authored book, Grants for Libraries, was published by Neal-Schuman and received a starred review in Library Journal. Her second book, The Accidental Technology Trainer, was published by Information Today. Stephanie co-authors the Library Grants Blog, and writes articles on grant work and technology training. She is currently working with the TechSoup for Libraries program to support them in providing technology education to libraries and helping them save money through software donations.